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Topic: I have it!! The 7D!! (Read 8467 times)

Got it last Friday. I've been playing around with it all weekend. I'm one happy puppy. Now I'm just waiting for the rest of the gear to arrive and I can make some serious tests between lenses etc.The local shop had a brilliant offer I could pass up on anymore. It included the 18-135mm lens, a Small bag, an 8GB CF card, a book about the 7D and some other small accessories. I'll be posting some pictures later on for you guys to comment. Being new to it I'm still getting my head around the menu structure and trying to setup an Custom auto-bracketing function to try my hand at HDR stuff.. I'll get there.... eventually...

Congratulations you will love it. Just take it slow and let your experience level grow. Some people just go off and take a million photos and they donâ€™t turn out to good and get down on camera and all that. Only to learn it was not the camera. Thereâ€™s just a learning curve and getting to know how to get the better results they are looking for. One tip I found helpful at first was to use just one focus point and not all 19. So it will focus on what you need it to. Congratulations

Congratulations you will love it. Just take it slow and let your experience level grow. Some people just go off and take a million photos and they donâ€™t turn out to good and get down on camera and all that. Only to learn it was not the camera. Thereâ€™s just a learning curve and getting to know how to get the better results they are looking for. One tip I found helpful at first was to use just one focus point and not all 19. So it will focus on what you need it to. Congratulations

I STILL only use the central focus point. If I want the focus point not to appear in the centre of the frame, I just focus on it in the centre by half-pressing, and hold the half-press while I move the camera to re-compose the shot, before letting it rip.

I confess that in my ignorance, I don't see a lot of point of using more than one focus point. I have read that section of the manual but I was not a lot the wiser afterwards, about why you'd want to use >1 point. I mean, do you have to use the mini-joystick thing to select the focus point to use, if you're not just using the central one? Isn't that awfully fiddly, if you're holding the camera with the viewfinder to your eye at the same time?

And I believe there is a mode in which the camera will select one of more of its focus points to use, for you, using some kind of algorithm. Again, why? I doubt it'll "guess right" all the time which object or objects you want in focus.

I admit that my lack of understanding of these issues is my own problem and that there must be good reasons for these facilities on the camera, but I need educating!

[I STILL only use the central focus point. If I want the focus point not to appear in the centre of the frame, I just focus on it in the centre by half-pressing, and hold the half-press while I move the camera to re-compose the shot, before letting it rip.

Fleetie... you may want to reconsider your approach - those AF points are there for a reason. As noted in the below article and Canon video, using center focus and recomposing can cause focus errors and soft-focus problems as you are changing what is in the focal plane by moving the camera from its original focus.

[I STILL only use the central focus point. If I want the focus point not to appear in the centre of the frame, I just focus on it in the centre by half-pressing, and hold the half-press while I move the camera to re-compose the shot, before letting it rip.

Fleetie... you may want to reconsider your approach - those AF points are there for a reason. As noted in the below article and Canon video, using center focus and recomposing can cause focus errors and soft-focus problems as you are changing what is in the focal plane by moving the camera from its original focus.

Also, regarding your comment about adjusting focus points being "fiddly"... admittedly, it is a learning process. At first, selecting focus points may seem awkward and time consuming. But before you know it, you'll have a process worked out where you'll be flipping through focus points like a pro. Also, you don't always have to use the joytsick - you can also sweep through points with the top dial (just behind the shutter button) if you want.

Also - if you map your buttons for back-button focus, you can move your thumb over to the joystick, and immediately back to the back-focus button. My index finger occasionally uses the top dial - but only for quick transitions to the adjacent focus point. For moving far across the AF points, the joystick is my main weapon of choice. That's my setup, but I know everyone has their own preferences.

I did the same thing with my 450D. It made sense to me with only one good AF point. But as soon as I got the 7D I use all 19 points most of the time. The 7D is very good at focusing on what I want and it gets it right most of the time. I would try using all of the points for sure if I were you, it makes composition much faster. I think you'll be happy with it.

That little tip I left on the post was not meant to never use more then one AF point nor did I mean never us the upper or outer ones on single. There are times that in using all the AF points or full auto the camera of any type ( AF points 9-19-45) can lock on a area in the frame that is closes to the camera and leave the subject out of focus. Like some people laying on the grass. The cameras bottom AF points can lock on the grass 5 feet in front leaving the people out of focus depending on the f stop. As far a just using the center point I see it as away for beginner to get off to good start. I never intended it to be a set rule. Using all 19 points will work yes thatâ€™s what there for. It all is dependent on what your shooting. And yes if using a 85mm set at f/1.2 recomposing is not going to work out to well.